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Several reliable sources have told Hoops Haven that the Mike Davis saga may extend to past the signing period, which ends on Wednesday.

Rutgers is reluctant to accept a Letter of Intent from Davis because of concerns about his academics. That doesn’t mean, however, that the Scarlet Knights won’t try to hook up with Davis after the signing period, enrolling him in summer school and seeing how he progresses, with no contractual obligation to follow through with his scholarship.

As far as we know Davis still has a scholarship offer from Seton Hall on the table.

The fact that Davis has not yet gotten through the NCAA Clearinghouse is another monkey wrench in the process.

This kid isn't a top 10 player and six months after finally graduating from high school he is still not qualified to play by the NCAA. Couple this with the fact that he prefers RU and you know that winning and playing at a high level is not a priority.

Why the hell is Seton Hall even bothering with this kid? We're better than this and deserve better than this player.

SHU should be battling G'town, UConn and Cuse for recruits, not a loser school like RU.

Do the math, folks. If the Hall could have landed another big man besides Brandon Walters, they would've told Davis thanks, but no thanks a long time ago. G'town, UConn and Cuse have proven they can land quality big men. SHU and RU's current staffs are still struggling to demonstrate that.As for why Davis isn't yet through the Clearinghouse, consider that he's gone through high schools like most of us go through socks.

The only reason SHU has even offered him a scholarship before he is cleared is because it is nothing more than a glorified community college. RU actually has academic STANDARDS that must be upheld. If Big Mike meets the requirements for entry, he will be granted that, until then, he will wait and see.

This RU that has these supposed standards (laughable at best), is this the same RU that admitted a football player that got rejected by Miami, not to mention the kid with the weird foot fettish, and admitted such pillars of society that their class president was stealing from the same classmates she was supposed to be representing? Please, RU is a glorified four year community college and everyone knows it. RU has no standards.

It seems like the recritment of Davis has been going on since I graduated SHU, or since RU last made the NCAA tournament. Once cleared, how long will it take him to figure out how to sign his name, no matter where it is?

Gee...one halfway decent football team in over 130 years and all of a sudden you guys are UCLA. What's next, the "public ivy" fantasy you guys like to believe?

Please, deal with the fact the you are RU and that means that you are irrelevant. Sorry the truth hurts. Now, shouldn't you be somewhere else other than obsessing over SHU? Geez, get over the jealousy already will ya!

It's too bad that Bobby Gonzales has invested so much time in recruiting this kid. The writing should have been on the wall that his advisor was going to try to push him toward Rutgers. Gonzo could have been spending his time trying to land a top JUCO player to shore up the front court. If Rutgers is that hesistant to offer this kid a scholarship, Gonzo should say to Mr. Davis, "We've been supportive of you for a year, it's time to say yes or no. Mike it's time for you to decide, so SHU can make other plans if you are not interested in us"

why the angst from Pirate supporters here. If MD commits to SHU on June 15 instead of May 15 does that matter one bit? whay does SHU gain by pulling its offer? Do they have other 6'9" 240lb big men awaiting an offer to come to SHU in 07. Seems SHU has nothing to lose here.

I think SHU fans have just tired of the recruiting process with MD. Every week we hear that this will be the week he decided and it won't go past the weekend. God, if I had a nickel for every time we heard that I'd be able to retire AND build SHU their own arena with change to spare!

At this point I don't think many if any Pirate fans really care where Mike ends up. We'll wish him well either way he decides. Pick SHU, pick the four year community college off the turnpike but damnit just pick something already with and get it over.

I honestly think Mike's "advisors" are playing him for their own personal gain and really don't care about him one way or the other. Seems they could wind up screwing Mike out of an education if things don't break just right.

No one has the right to tell Davis to "hurry up and make his decision." This is an important choice and needs to be made on one's own timetable, not a bunch of antsy posters'.

It is also presumptuous to speculate on the motives of Mike's guardian (not advisor) if you have never met or spoken to the man.

The probable reason Seton Hall hasn't played hardball with a do-or-die deadline is because Davis is the best big-man recruit that they have a shot at right now. And they desperately need big men.

All of that said, it is a legitimate concern that Davis is playing a dangerous game by ignoring the bird in the hand (Seton Hall) in favor of some sort of to-be-determined arrangement with Rutgers after the signing period.

I agree with you to a point Jerry. This is Mike's decision and he should take all of the time he needs. However, the kid has been out of school for six months now and still can't seem to make a decision. That, plus he has "advisors" who quite honestly don't look like they know what the hell they are doing. From the looks of it they don't have Mike's best interests at heart. The kid has apparently been tossed around in the foster care system for quite some time and seems desperate for someone to trust. Unfortunately for him he comes up with these yo-yo's who seem to be putting their own agendas first.

Can we please stop talking about Mike Davis' 'best interests'?Nobody would care about him if he were 5-6 and couldn't put a ball through a hoop. I'm not saying the advice he's getting from his people has all been good, but let's be honest and not act like a bunch of humanitarians.

To the last anonymous: you make a good point. In fact, it could be argued that Davis would be better off at a D-I school in a smaller conference, where there won't be as much pressure on him.It does seem he and his advisor are set on the Big East, but he probably would be better off in a less pressurized situation, because of his question marks academically.

Jerry, Although no one has the right "to tell Davis to "hurry up and make his decision." SHU has the right to pull the offer if someone else that can help the team is out there. I feel we all know where this is going. Davis will enroll at RU on a trial basis and SHU will be left holding the bag.

For the past year there was no mention of Rutgers and it was about Mike qualifying. How did Rutgers enter the picture and why does now Mike want to go there? You know it has nothing to do with academics, no matter which school. It is about basketball. You don't like the fact that some question the integrity of the guardian and his motives. We may be wrong, but we have all been around the block and have seen how these kids are used as a meal ticket when the kid gets to the NBA. We all know the Luther Wright story. That may not be the case for Mike, but it is fair to be suspecious considering how this is playing out. I agree Gonzo probably does not have anyone else in the pipeline as an alternate recruit, so he is playing the waiting game. I think the RU late entry took him by surprise or he would have been better prepared to offer to another big man.

About the Author

Jerry Carino has covered sports for the Gannett New Jersey newspapers since 1996 and has been on the college basketball beat since 2003. A native of Old Bridge, he also teaches journalism at Kean University.Email Jerry.